Category Archives: Europe

Don’t really know why…

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

I really don’t know why Japan’s Muji stores has the “Santa vending machine” on the streets of Barcelona.

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Going, Going, Gone…

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

In Tromsø, Norway – 215 miles north of the Arctic Circle – the sun has gone down for the last time this year. The sun will remain below the horizon during the “Polar Night” from November 26 until January 15, 2011. To mark the … Continue reading →

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Stunning Collection

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Boasting a collection of 230 rare and vintage autos, the Louwman Nationaal Automobiel Museum was officially inaugurated this past July in the Hague by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Designed by Michael Graves, the 185,000 square-foot museum is anchored by … Continue reading →

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Do you believe in retronautics ?

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Chris Wild’s amazing website, How to be a Retronaut, is a virtual time machine with astonishing retro-posts that will transport you in time . A recent series by Dutch historian Jo Teeuwisse chronicals World War II  and contemporay Amsterdam with … Continue reading →

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A Christmas Miracle (Almost)

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

The Guardian newspaper has reported a holiday story with a “twist” in “true Dickensian style”. While the staff of the Dickens House Museum in Clerkenwell, London, were preparing their Christmas decorations, news arrived of a minor Christmas miracle. No, Ebenezer … Continue reading →

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ROA…Street Art

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Based in Ghent, Belgium, ROA is a street artist who is gaining international acclaim for his giant animals. ROA got his start painting bridges, walls and abandoned buildings throughout Belgium. Since then, his work has popped-up afar afield as Warsaw, … Continue reading →

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Real Street Art, Italian Style

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

The city of Milan, in conjunction with its fiber optic company Metroweb, has commissioned street artists to create 20 original manhole covers. The series, titled Over the Under, is made-up of four covers each from Rendo, Shepard Fairey, the London Police, … Continue reading →

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Postcards from the Future

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Is this the future of London? A compelling exhibit at the Museum of London offers a series of thought provoking digital “postcards from London’s future”. Created by illustrators Robert Graves and Didier Madoc-Jones, the images suggest a tragic vision of … Continue reading →

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Help Save The Pages

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

London’s The Victoria and Albert Museum  has sent out a public plea for funds to preserve the original manuscripts of three novels by Charles Dickens. It’s seeking a total of £25,000, of which half has already been raised, to properly … Continue reading →

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Reader’s Choice: Bookshop Porn II

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

With its imposing neo-Gothic facade and Art Nouveau interiors,Livraria Lello has been Oporto, Portugal’s leading bookseller since 1881. Livraria Lello is the epitome of the old-world bookstore. The jawdroppingly beautiful interior is decorated with bronze bas-reliefs, glass enclosed bookcases, soaring stained glass … Continue reading →

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